Cedric: Can you believe it? The way he talks to them. The transcript, reading it is bad enough, but to hear the scorn and abuse he's screaming at them with? These aren't soldiers under his command, these are supposed to be the Iraqi police. If you need any more reason why the US needs to leave now, just watch that video and see the contempt, scorn and anger that the US military is treating Iraqi police officers with. If that's the 'respect' the police get, can you imagine how they talk to the average Iraqi?

Wally: Absolutely. His little tantrum did nothing but make people mad. Those police officers may not have grasped -- even with the translator -- everything that was being said but they could grasp the tone. They could tell they were being talked to like they were a pack of wild dogs. And don't forget the high ranking ones. He spoke to their leaders like that. You see some foreigner insult your police commander, how much respect do you have for him? None at all.

Marcia: And let's not forget what he's saying beyond cursing them, beyond barking out insults and threats, he's also talking to them about their 'duties,' about what they need to do. Go bust up this and beat up that. Does that damn idiot know the first thing about the police? Can you imagine with this kind of 'training' what it's going to be like for Iraqis living under such a 'police' force. That is why you do not let a military train a civilian police. This is disgusting. There is no non-combat role for the US military in Iraq. Barack can lie all he wants but he has seen this damn video?

Ruth: I was thinking the same thing as Marcia. The US service member has no idea what he is talking about. That may be due to people higher than him in the command but he is not telling them to do police work, he is telling them to do military work. They are civilian police officers and it is frightening to think of what could happen on down the line because of their 'training.'

Elaine: And while these are all important points, I want to bring up the criticique C.I. offered because I firmly believe in that. The 'barker' is telling the Iraqis that they are "women" and refering to them with slang for a vagina. Talk about reinforcing negative images about women -- and in a region where women are already struggling for basic rights and dignities.

Kat: Did he know he was being taped? The US military man? Did he know? I don't see how he couldn't have known and yet he felt no need to curb his sexism or to consider that a police force does not have the same duties as the military.

Trina: These are all good points and they all go to the damage the US does by remaining in Iraq which was the point Cedric made at the start. The US needs to leave Iraq. Not a year from now or two years or seven years but right now. And the idea that this is what is being done over there, the idea that we're turning a police force into a military with no respect for the law, that we're encouraging Iraqi men to further despise Iraqi women, all of this just means the US needs to withdraw now. Right now.

Rebecca: Let me do the PSA here. The sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War is coming up. Groups such as The National Assembly to End the Wars, the ANSWER coalition, World Can't Wait and Iraq Veterans Against the War -- are taking part in an action this month. Iraq Veterans Against the War explains:IVAW's Afghanistan Resolution and National Mobilization March 21st As an organization of service men and women who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan, stateside, and around the world, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War have seen the impact that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had on the people of these occupied countries and our fellow service members and veterans, as well as the cost of the wars at home and abroad. In recognition that our struggle to withdraw troops from Iraq and demand reparations for the Iraqi people is only part of the struggle to right the wrongs being committed in our name, Iraq Veterans Against the War has voted to adopt an official resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and reparations for the Afghan people. (To read the full resolution, click here.) To that end, Iraq Veterans Against the War will be joining a national coalition which is being mobilized to march on the Pentagon, March 21st, to demand the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and further our mission and goals in solidarity with the national anti-war movement. This demonstration will be the first opportunity to show President Obama and the new administration that our struggle was not only against the Bush administration - and that we will not sit around and hope that troops are removed under his rule, but that we will demand they be removed immediately. For more information on the March 21st March on the Pentagon, and additional events being organized in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orlando, to include transportation, meetings, and how you can get involved, please visit: www.pentagonmarch.org or www.answercoalition.org.

Rebecca (Con't): So that's coming up and Stan didn't speak in the previous discussion so I'm going to start with him. Muntadhar al-Zeidi was another topic. He is the Iraqi journalist who threw two shoes at Bully Boy Bush December 14th. Thursday, he was sentenced to three years in prison. His attorneys state they will appeal. Stan, your thoughts?

Stan: This was the easy story. This was the story that allowed all the jerks online to pretend like they give a damn about the Iraq War. The losers at Corrente and all the rest. They'd post the video. They'd make their not funny at all jokes and then they'd go back to boring us all with their half-baked posts about topics like Barbie, women's upper arms, etc. Think about these websites with multiple-posts each day and how Iraq is never a topic. But they see video of Muntadhar tossing a shoe and they'll pretend like they give a damn.

Marcia: I would agree with that. Danny Schechter ignores Iraq every day and wastes everyone's time with nut jobs like Sam Smith. And he quotes the nut job, for example, Thursday, staing that the press was in the tank for Bill Clinton. That alone is revealing of what a fraud and an idiot Sam Smith is. But what does it say about Danny Schechter who quotes him and quotes him at the same time he's quoting Robert Parry saying just the opposite. It's like Schechter doesn't even read his own garbage. Not that I'd blame him for that. But he ignored Iraq all week and then showed up Friday with a few lines on Muntadhar. My cousin, Stan, he's exactly right. This is the do-nothing topic that allows all the do-nothings to gas bag. There were two major reports released in the last 14 days, Ava noted them earlier, but the likes of Danny Schechter can't write about those things. Two studies, from organizations recognized around the world. But that gets a pass. Still there's always time for easy topics.

Betty: I would agree with that and Stan and Marcia have each named one site but we could name many, many more. I am so sick of the apathy online. I'm so sick of the people like Danny Schechter who want to act like the world is over. I'll be kind and not name another person but another site had time to talk about Tibet this week. Free Tibet. Free Tibet? You're in the United States and you can't type a damn word about the Iraq War but you want to tell us Free Tibet? Tell you what, sport, I'll buy you a gun, I'll even buy you bullets, and you take your little candy ass on over to China and you make it happen. Go free Tibet. Can anyone think of a less important issue? That's a Richard Gere issue. That's an issue for a man who takes out an ad to say he's not gay, he's happily married and then divorce the woman a few weeks later. It's such celebrity issue. How about you grow up and you start using your space at least once a week to call for your own country to end an illegal war that it started. Or are you just so chicken that you prefer to call out China because it's scary to call out your own country?

Wally: I think part of it is that it requires some work. More work than a lot of people want to put in. They can't dabble with Iraq without looking like an idiot -- as so many dabblers demonstrate. It's just too much work for them. They'd rather jaw bone about an economy they do not understand and they embarrass themselves so much.

C.I.: Wally's an economics major.

Wally: Yeah, so when they start their gas baggery and quickly reveal that they don't know what they're talking about, I just laugh at them. You've got people who've done the real work like Trina and then you've got these people who think if they throw enough unconnected terms and enough words out there, someone's going to be convinced they know what they're talking about. And, let's face it, there are no leaders in Panhandle Media. Big Media's talking about the economy, oh, they better talk about it too! They can't lead. If they could lead, the pullout of Iraq by Western media wouldn't be so frightening. But Panhandle Media is incapable of leading.

Mike: Agreed. And they've never cared about Iraq. Amy Goodman and the rest, they wanted to grandstand on the topic, they just didn't want to do any work on it. And when it gets attention from big media, they'll rush back to the topic and act like they've been covering it all the time. We've seen this little act for years now and it's so old.

Kat: And we hit the six year mark next week. Six years and not one show on Pacifica was ever created to cover the Iraq War. That tells how damn little it matters. We have had two Pacifica shows in 2004 on elections and at least three shows started in 2008 to cover the elections. But we can't get a show for the Iraq War. And as Mike said, their little pretend to care about Iraq act has gotten old.

Rebecca: Okay, a new topic. C.I. slid this over to me. Stars and Stripes notes there are reports emerging that the US shot down an Iranian drone flying over Iraq in February. Any thoughts?

Ruth: This is the first I'm hearing of it and, if it is true, my first question would be why that is? Seems to me the public should have known about this last month if it was true. The Iraq War is not supposed to be hidden from the public. A drone shot down would be news that the public should have. What is the purpose in hiding that? The fact that it was hidden makes me think that it is a false story.

Betty: I would agree with Ruth on that. How many times have we heard, "Iran's causing trouble! Iran's training fighters! Iran's supplying weapons!" Over and over. And now we're supposed to believe that the US has information and has sat on it for a month? I don't buy it. I'm with Ruth. And, excuse me, C.I. didn't they brag about their drone capabilities last month? The military.

C.I.: The US military did brag about a drone. A US drone was used as an assault weapon on February 23rd, the US military announced it March 2nd, it was in the March 3rd snapshot. It was an "unmanned drone" and it shot off a missile. It killed some people and the US military was thrilled and issued their announcement. That was seven days later.

Elaine: So seven days to announce 'good news.' Certainly, as Betty pointed out, past remarks by the US military would indicate they would see an Iranian drone as "good news." If seven days is the standard to announce good news, we should have heard of an Iranian drone no later than March 7th, right?

Kat: Right. If not sooner. Because they could argue that in the first case, "National security! We must not let the 'enemies' know about our capabilities right away!'" I'm with Ruth, Betty and Elaine on this, I don't buy it. Even if the US government comes out and confirms the reports, I'm not sure that I will buy it.

Rebecca: Okay, another topic. Nouri al-Maliki, the puppet of the occupation, took his act on the road. He visited Australia this week. So let's talk about that. While in Australia, he attempted to increase ties with Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Australia's ABC reports that he asked for more Australian investment in his country and they note, "Speaking through a translator, he said Australia had been generous in opening its doors to Iraqi refugees and called on it to help the country again."

Mike: Well, first off, the press release from Rudd, C.I. noted it, what is this, he visited their cemetary for their fallen. I don't remember Nouri visiting Arlington Cementary when he came to the US. And, no offense, but his kind words about sacrifice on the part of the Australian troops, we're talking three deaths. I'm not remembering kind words for the Americans, whose death toll stands at 4257. But maybe he made those but not at Arlington Cemetary so it flew over my head.

Wally: I did find it interesting that Australia also has a tomb of an unknown soldier, but I agree with Mike, that was kind of offensive. All the more so when you consider that last month he was insulting the vice president of the United States. And, since so many do not follow the news, let me point out that John Howard, whom Kevin Rudd replaced, was runner up to Tony Blair for Bush lapdog. Australia was all over the lies for illegal war, spreading them, pimping them. It's not like Australia is some innocent compared to the government in the US. C.I.?C.I.: I have no idea what Nouri's said in the US. My guess would be Mike's correct. He didn't make any statements like that at Arlington Cementary. I know Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq, hasn't made any statements like that at the cemetary; however, he comes to the US for health care. So he's got other things on his mind. But I want to take issue with that claim that Australia's done something amazing with refugees. They haven't. They are as bad as the US. As Mike was pointing out earlier, the leaders on the illegal war were the US, the UK and Australia. Near the end of 2007, they'd almost gotten up to admitting 6,000 refugees from Iraq to Australia. That is not a huge number. Sweden remains the western country that is carrying the weight for all the other western countries -- including for the US. And, of course, Jordan and Syria -- as well as Lebanon and Egypt -- have huge numbers of Iraqi refugees. I find it very interesting that Nouri went to Australia to ask for things and yet asking for more refugees to be admitted wasn't on his list. His list was, "Give me money, invest in my country, blah, blah, blah." But the largest humanitarian crisis right now and he can't even make a request -- and apparently wants to pretend that Australia's done something amazing.

Marcia: On the issue of refugees, I wanted to weigh in on an aspect. C.I. critiqued some revelations in an article by Tina Susman this week and I agree with that. To back it up, the article was about the Los Angeles Times' Iraqi employees who were applying for visas to come to the US as refugees. And they were getting fast tracked because they were media workers but they get waived through and suddenly they don't want it. I agree with C.I., you have just abused the system and you should now be kicked out. If you decide you want to leave again, not to the US. There are too many people, too many under attack, for Iraqis who aren't sure what they want to do to waste everyone's time. Every family that decides, "I'll stay here in Iraq!" is one family willing to leave that got bumped as the media workers were fast tracked through.

Ava: Does anyone else even question that system being in place?Trina: I do. For anyone who doesn't know, if you've helped a US media outlet, if you've been a translator or collaborated with the US military or US diplomatic staff, you can be fast tracked through the refugee application process. You may not get waived out of the country but you will jump ahead of everyone else in the process pile. One would assume that "refugee status" would be based on need and solely on need.

Betty: I would agree with you, Trina. And I would note that, for example, the US military lied to Iraqis all the time at the start of the illegal war, telling them they would get to come to the US and that wasn't reality, they didn't even have the fast-track policy in place back then. In fact, in May 2006, Ava and C.I. wrote "TV: The Urine Stains of David Mamet" about this while tackling The Unit, "The kid will ask for only one thing (the kid's under twelve, with a dead mother and no family around) -- that if he helps them, they will take him to America. Jonas doesn't bat an eye as he promises they will. The kid asks him to swear it. Jonas will swear it. Of course the kid's not taken to America. Jonas lied to him. ('Twists and turns!' screams the playwright who never learned about characterization.) The kid's left in the town where he's not only an orphan struggling to feed himself but, probably, a marked 'man' since it's going to be obvious who ratted out the location of the helicopter that the boys shot down. But that's our amoral world of Mamet. Machismo means never having to work up a tear for an orphaned child. Jonas Blane probably watches Jerry Lewis telethons to laugh at the children." I asked Ty about that, for help finding it, because I figured refugees would be a topic tonight and he asked me to note that when Ava and C.I. wrote that, there were angry drive-bys of 'how dare you!' and 'David Mamet is a liberal!' He asked me to note that Mamet went public last year about being a conservative and that Ava and C.I. caught just what a conservative he'd become in 2006 just, quoting Ty, "by paying attention to what his writing said."

Trina: Good point on Ty's part and, in the case of this review, the 12-year-old boy, that would be, in the real world, someone who would qualify. He'd qualify because he was now an orphan. He'd qualify because he was in danger if he remained. That makes him a refugee. Stan: And to the issue of what doesn't, I agree with everything being said here. Media workers, for example, can certainly apply. But they shouldn't be fast tracked over genuine refugees. And that is what happens now. Collaborate with the US military or work for one of their media companies and get fast tracked. That's wrong. And I think it's even more wrong to make it through the process, get told you can go to the United States and then say you don't want to go. Because the agencies have been working on your family's application and that's time they could have been working on another family's application. Someone's been waiting so you get an offer you're going to turn down.

Ava: Right and in Susman's article, she talks about one man who is in the middle of the process right now and, he says, he's not sure he's going to the US if he gets told he can. So why aren't you communicating that and telling them to withdraw your application right now? Why are you wasting everyone's time? There is a refugee crisis and it is internal and external. Iraqis who are genuine refugees do not need an already slow system being clogged up further by people who don't want to go to the US but would like to know if they qualified. Just for kicks, you understand, just for kicks.

Cedric: If we can stay on refugees for just a minute more, I would like to point out a group that made it into two snapshots this week, Collateral Repair Project. Even if you don't have money to give to the project, you should visit that website and see the photos and read the stories. The posts I read were on Iraqi refugees in Jordan.

Betty: The stories upset me but the one that upset me the most was the Iraqi woman with three children, all born in Iraq, whose husband had lived in Iraq for 25 years but was Egyptian. The United Nations would only give the wife financial aid as a refugee. They insisted her three kids didn't qualify because they were "Egyptian." That is stupid and I can't believe the United Nations would be so inept and so callous -- and, honestly, so ignorant. But as Cedric says, read those stories. They will break your heart. The little girl who draws a razor because older school bullies threatened to cut her face with a razor and the parents of Iraqi children can't complain about threats because they might be further penalized for being refugees.

Cedric: I'd actually forgotten that story and it's a really sad one. But there are so many important stories at Collateral Repair Project and it's so very easy to forget one or two because the one that tends to register the most is the last one you read.

Rebecca: Good points all and we're going to need to start winding down. I've got three more topics but I'll go with one. E-mails have been released by the government in the United Kingdom and they explain how Tony Blair's government rigged the 'findings' in the lead-up to the start of the Iraq War. C.I.'s covered for the last two days. In addition to today's snapshot, I would encourage you to see yesterday's as well. This is from Ian Bell's Saturday column for The Herald:

It wears thin. They hold down one thing, up pops another. Straw overturns his own freedom of information legislation to suppress the minutes of cabinet discussions prior to the Iraq war. Instantly another piece of truth, an adjunct, springs out like a loose floorboard thanks to that same law, despite the government that made the law.Documents, e-mail records, that were not released to the Hutton inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly in 2003 are yielded up by the Cabinet Office after four years of persistent and wilful - on whose orders? - stalling.They demonstrate that the intelligence services, paid to know, were less than convinced that Saddam Hussein possessed a fearsome, ready and working, arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. There was doubt, a lot of it.

Rebecca (Con't): So that was Ian Bell. Ava. C.I. and Mike can't comment because Polly's making this the topic for her roundtable for Polly's Brew and Ava, C.I. and Mike are participating in that tomorrow night. But anyone else who wants to grab it can.

Stan: I'm glad you found a column that's new because the most troubling thing for me has been the silence. As you pointed out, C.I.'s hit hard on it yesterday and today but it's hard to tell how much it's registering. And that might just be my frustration and feeling of, "I've watched this movie over and over. I know how it ends."

Marcia: Right because no one gets punished and there's no inquiry. That has been the pattern.

Ruth: What I wish is that Americans would all pay attention to this in terms of where it goes. My guess is New Labour will again refuse an inquiry. New Labour is the equivalent of the Democrats and I think it will be very illuminating to grasp how much politicians work to bury the truth.

Trina: I'll agree with Ruth on that. We have nothing going on in this country in terms of Congress doing anything on Iraq. They're not trying to end it, they're not trying to investigate it. And the Democratic Party wants us to give them even more seats in the mid-term? At this rate, if they do get more seats, they'll show up in 2012 whining that they 'only' have 400 seats in the House and 89 in the Senate and can't do anything until they have 100% in both houses.

Cedric: I would agree with that. I would agree that the Democrats little game has gotten as old as beggar media. I'm tired of it. I'll be voting third party November 2010 unless the Congress starts demanding a real and quick withdrawal from Iraq. In other words, I'll be voting third party in November 2010. Because Congress isn't going to do a damn thing.

Rebecca: Well said. Thank you to everyone for participating. We're going to wind down. Ava and C.I. took notes. They'll type this up. This is a rush transcript. We're debating whether or not to do another one next Friday. Debating because we didn't realize there was another Friday before the Saturday activism -- not tomorrow, next Saturday. So there's a good chance you'll see another roundtable next Friday. We're trying to keep the focus on Iraq and that's been the point of these roundtables as well as the ones at Third. And let me throw a link to Third -- actually two. First, there roundtable last Sunday was "Talking Iraq" which you should make a point to read. Second, Jim played Thomas E. Ricks for an exchange on Iraq -- C.I. was the voice for "leave Iraq now" entitled "The Thomas E. Ricks Dialogue." Lastly, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, participated this week and was noted in my intro at the start. She also participated last week and I forgot to note her in the intro. Apologies to Lainie.

Friday, March 13, 2009. Chaos and violence continue in Iraq, actions gear up in the US, Amnesty International calls for a moratorium on executions in Iraq, Republican US senators want a new nominee for US Ambassador to Iraq, and more. Starting with action. IRAQ: The Logic of Withdrawal author Anthony Arnove (Socialist Worker) notes that MoveOn (aka WalkOn.org) has moved on from the illegal war:

The message being sent to the antiwar movement is: It's over. We can "move on." Leave it to the generals to wind it down. But if we do that, we will find ourselves without the forces we need to challenge Obama and Congress. The year 2011 is already too late to end the occupation of Iraq, which should never have started in the first place. And shifting troops from Iraq to Afghanistan is not ending the war. Without an antiwar movement that is loud, active, in the streets and raising its own independent demands beyond the limits set by the Democratic Party, U.S. troops will not be coming home. The empire has not folded up its tent, and neither should we.

Which is why action is needed and people can take action all next week. In various cities there will be actions. On Thursday, for example, many cities will be marking the 6th anniversary of the start of the illegal war. World Can't Wait has posted an audio message about an action in Berkeley next Thursday:

Hey, listen up. March 19th is the 6th anniversary of this unjust, illegal, immoral war on Iraq. Over one million Iraqis have been killed and four million turned into refugees. There are still almost 150,000 troops in Iraq and another 17,000 are being sent to Afghanistan. All in the name of the so-called war on terror. Iraq and Afghanistan are now Obama's wars. The question is: What are you going to do about it? Where are you going to be on March 19th? Are you going to be in the streets of Berkeley with The World Can't Wait saying stop US occuaptions and torture for empire, "US Out of Iraq and Afghanistan," "No Wars on Iran, Pakistan and Gaza"? Or are you at peace with being at war? Are these wars any less bad just because we have a new commander-in-chief? Look, if you thought Barack Obama was going to end the war, think again. Listen to what he's actually said he's going to do. He's said he's going to leave 80,000 troops in Iraq. He said he's going to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan. He said he wants to increase the size of the US military by 92,000 more troops -- sending more of our young people to kill and die. But you don't have to go along. It's immoral to wait and see, hoping maybe someday Obama will withdraw some of the troops. Do not be accepting and supporting the very crimes you hated so much under the Bush regime. If you care about humanity and don't want the war to continue even one more day than get in the streets this Thursday, March 19th, in Berkeley on the sixth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. Join us for a rally at three o'clock at Martin Luther King Park, next to Berkeley High. At four p.m., we're going to march. To get involved, call us now at (415) 864-5153 or e-mail us at sf@worldcantwait.org.

Berkeley will not be the only city across the country engaging in protests next Thursday. World Can't Wait offers a list of other cities holding demonstrations. Next weekend, those wanting to call out the illegal war can join with groups such as The National Assembly to End the Wars, the ANSWER coalition, World Can't Wait and Iraq Veterans Against the War -- all are taking part in a real action. Iraq Veterans Against the War explains:IVAW's Afghanistan Resolution and National Mobilization March 21st As an organization of service men and women who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan, stateside, and around the world, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War have seen the impact that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had on the people of these occupied countries and our fellow service members and veterans, as well as the cost of the wars at home and abroad. In recognition that our struggle to withdraw troops from Iraq and demand reparations for the Iraqi people is only part of the struggle to right the wrongs being committed in our name, Iraq Veterans Against the War has voted to adopt an official resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and reparations for the Afghan people. (To read the full resolution, click here.) To that end, Iraq Veterans Against the War will be joining a national coalition which is being mobilized to march on the Pentagon, March 21st, to demand the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and further our mission and goals in solidarity with the national anti-war movement. This demonstration will be the first opportunity to show President Obama and the new administration that our struggle was not only against the Bush administration - and that we will not sit around and hope that troops are removed under his rule, but that we will demand they be removed immediately. For more information on the March 21st March on the Pentagon, and additional events being organized in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orlando, to include transportation, meetings, and how you can get involved, please visit: www.pentagonmarch.org or www.answercoalition.org.

Need some motivation to get active next week? If you're in Indiana, you're got someone who can explain why it is so important to stand up. Camilo Mejia is the author of Road from Ar Ramadi. He is an Iraq War veteran. He is a conscientious objector. He stood up to the full power of the US military and he survived and then some. He is the chair of Iraq Veterans Against the war. All of that, before you even get into the adventures of his father and mother, is more than worth hearing about and those makes him someone worth hearing. Those in South Bend and Goshen Indiana have the opportunity to hear him next week. Monday, he will be speaking at 7:00 pm on the Indiana University South Bend's campus and Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. he will be speaking in Goshen at Iglesia Menonita Del Buen Pastor. Both events are free and open to the public and more information can be found here. Mejia is among the early resisters and his actions are noted by Michael J. Mooney (Broward Palm Beach) who explains the struggle war resister Aslan Lamarche is currently undergoing. He joined the military at the age of 18, he then self-checked out and went to Canada. His attempt to be granted refugee status in Canada was denied. His parents (from Trinidad and Cuba) remain in Flordia and Aslan states, "It's sad. My parents came to the U.S. for a better way of life. And now, their oldest son had to leave that same country for the same reason." He is taking classes in Toronto and hoping for some good news. He says, "It's hard to be 20 years old and be hated by two governments. And Canada is a very strange country in a lot of ways. They just have this blind trust that their government will do the right thing. The majority of Canadians want us to stay. They say, 'Don't worry. Everything will be fine.' But at the end of the day, none of them are willing to fight for us."

Meanwhile Megan Feldman (Dallas Observer) writes not only the lengthiest article on US war resisters in Canada in some time, it may be the lengthiest yet. Kimberly Rivera is Feldman's entry point. The Iraq War veteran, who became the first female US war resister to go public in Canada this decade, hails from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Community members in that area note that the bulk of the copies of this week's Observer are gone. (The Dallas Observer is a weekly freebie which publishes each Wednesday.) Feldman's article opens:Just 5 feet tall, with a baby strapped to her chest and a soft, faltering voice, Kim Rivera is anything but soldierly. Yet two years ago she was a Texas private in the War on Terror, guarding a gate with an M4 rifle and frisking Iraqi civilians at a base in eastern Baghdad. Now, on a Wednesday evening in January, the 26-year-old mother of three stands in a room in frigid, snow-covered Toronto. Her fair-skinned face and round blue eyes are framed by auburn hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and she places a hand on her bundled baby as she faces some 100 people seated in folding chairs in the middle-class apartment building's community room. Rivera clears her throat and unfolds a sheet of paper. "I was fighting your kind for killing my kind," she begins, reading a poem she wrote last summer and dedicated to the people of Iraq. "I was fighting for your liberty; I was fighting for peace." She pauses and takes a deep breath. "But in reality, I was fighting to destroy everything you know and love." The audience listens in silence. Some nod. A few wipe tears from their eyes. They are peace activists and professors, fellow American Iraq War deserters in their 20s and American hippies in their 60s, Vietnam draft-dodgers and Canadian mothers.During Vietnam, the Canadian government welcomed both "draft dodgers" and "deserters." This go round, no US service member resisting the Iraq War has been granted official status by making a refugee claim. Despite a motion passed in the House of Commons last year, war resisters have still not been welcomed by the government. (The motion was non-bidning.) Approximately 400 war resisters have gone to Canada -- the bulk of which do not attempt to be granted refugee status but instead try to fly under the radar. (That's me, not Feldman on the last sentence.) Feldman notes that, during the Iraq War, the "desertion rates have nearly doubled, rising from 2,610 in 2003 to 4,698 in 2007, and military records show a crackdown on deserters since the war in Iraq began. In both 2001 and 2007, for instance, roughly 4,500 soldiers deserted each year. But while in 2001 only 29 deserters were prosecuted, in 2007 that figure was 108." Ryan Johnson is among the war resisters noted in Feldman's article and she also goes into Joshua Key's case in depth (we'll note that section next week).Kimberly Rivera, Ryan Johnson, Joshua Key, Phil Hart and others resist the illegal war. In Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki appears ready to resist the Iraqis from his US installed post as prime minister. Marc Lynch (Foreign Policy) notes al-Maliki's advisor Sadiq al-Rikabi declaring in DC (last week): "I think that, considering the American's president's speech about the U.S. commitment for reponsible withdrawal, we do not feel a referendum is necessary. The decision will need to be taken in parliament, as the referendum is currently enshrined in law, and so if it is to be cancelled, we need a new law to say so. But even if the referendum is held on its assigned date, I'm not worried at all about the approval of the SOFA." Lynch notes that the vote is supposed to be mere months away but there appears to be no preparation for it and wonders if it will be cancelled:

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the U.S. and Maliki would both like to see the referendum quietly dropped. Neither really wanted it to begin with. For the U.S., it complicates strategic planning, while it was forced on Maliki by the Iraqi Parliament as the price of ratification. It isn't currently a major issue in the press or for leading political forces, and preparation for a referendum which is supposedly only four months away (but lacks rules or even a set question) doesn't seem to have begun. We've noted before (most recently in the March 4th snapshot) that if that vote's taking place, it's past time for steps to be taken. Iraq's not really had a full-on election. The most recent 'big' election was 14 out of 18 provinces and approximately 40% of the eligible population did not participate (some were not allowed to participate, some chose not to).Monday Thomas E. Ricks author of The Gamble and NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro appeared on Talk of the Nation. One of the callers was a US service member home on a pass who would be returning to Iraq shortly. He explained he was stationed in Baghdad and that when they (US soldiers) attempt to train Iraqi police, they don't show up, or only a few do. Lourdes Garacia-Navarro explained various reasons that could be the case including tensions and hostilities that result from an occupation. (Garcia-Navarro heads NPR's Baghdad division.) An example of that can be found online. At his site Adam Kokesh - Revolutionary Patriot, Adam Kokesh has posted a video of US forces 'training' Iraqi police officers and Adam notes this is Barack Oabama's "residual force of 'non-combat troops' in Iraq. This is the US military's Tony Robbins he mentions three areas that we're calling A and B and C (I have no idea what he's taling about):

We're going to talk a little about how you are conducting yourselves as Iraqi police. Raise your hand if you're in the Mahdi militia. Let's see it. Who's in the militia? Who has militia ties? Which one of you are more loyal to the militia than to your own country? None of you? Bulls**t. Some of you in this formation are f**king lie right now. You know why I'm pissed off? I've come down here with my soldiers to try and train you and you're trying to f**king kill Americans, you're trying to kill your fellow f**king Iraqis cause you got no f**king backbone. You want everything from me. You want weapons and ammunition. You want fuel, you want trucks. But you're too f**king p**sy to go three kilometers down the road and go get the people that are tearing this f**king town apart. That's pure f**king cowardice. I'll take three g**damn trucks down the road any f**king day. [To an Iraqi, thumping him on the chest] You think this is f**king funny? You want to call me out? You think it's f**king funny? Why don't I take your ass out back and kick your little f**king ass? You better shut the f**k up. F**king pay attention. [To all] I have no problems beating anyone of your asses, not one. Because I don't give a f**k. Because you're acting like a bunch of f**king women. [To one Iraqi] Shut up when I'm talking. Shut your f**king mouth. [To all] I'm not going to come down here and waste my f**king time or my soldiers' lives because you don't want to do s**t. You guys better figure out where your loyalties lie. Are you loyal to Iraq, Shia, Sunni, what is it? You want to fight for your country or are you better off having me die for your country because you're too much of a f**king woman to do it yourself? You love seeing Americans die for your f**king country, you won't die for it yourself. I don't see your ass in my hometown. [Turning around] And you f**king leadership [ought to?] get off your ass too. Lead from the f**king front. When's the last time you went on patrol? Probably never. When's the last time you went these guys down to A, when did you take them to A and lead 'em on a f**king patrol? You never did, did you? Because you're too chicken s**t. [Facing front] Figure out what the f**k you want from us or I'm going to stop coming down here. And when the Sunnis from A come down here and cut your f**king heads off, I'm not going to do a g**damn thing about it. I'm going to let them bomb your f**king ass into oblivion with their mortars because you will not do s**t about it. I will not help people that will not help themselves. Get your heads out of this f**king bulls**t Mahdi militia and start fighting for Iraq. What do you want? Questions? . . . . [Question asked, then translated.] You wanna erase that image, you want to fix your image. This group right here, f**k your stupid checkpoints, they're worthless. Get together, get all your weapons and start marching south towards the river. I guarantee you'll get into a gunfight and I guarantee you'll f**k some people up. Get down there and kick some ass. What? You don't need trucks. Take some water, take some food. [shouting over him] Hey, quit making excuses. Don't f**king talk about US patrols. I never saw your ass down in ledge, where the f**k were you? I never saw you in B, C, so shut the f**k up. When I tell you to man up, you shut the f**k up. You guys want to be men, go down there and start beating some f**king asses. You're supposed to be Iraqi police. Why don't you try acting like it? You sit her with your thumb up your ass because you're too f**king scared to do your jobs.

That video is appalling on so many levels. First off, we do need to note that Iraqi women are under attack. We need to point out that they have lost rights since the start of the illegal war. We need to point out that the thug goverment the US chose to install practices rank sexism. So for any US service member, diplomat, you name it in Iraq to contribute to sexism is spitting on Iraqi women. SPITTING on Iraqi women. There is no excuse for it. There is no "Oh, he's telling it like it is." He's being a foul mouthed prick and he can be that and we won't raise an eyebrow. But he cannot degrade women and get away with it. He is pushing the notion that being a woman is something wrong. And that he thought that was appropriate goes to a HUGE problem in the US military. That he didn't realize how offensive, wrong and harmful those statements were, goes to a HUGE problem. The US has done enough damage to Iraq. It has no right to inflict further damage on Iraqi women. And, for the record, Iraqi women are police officers. They had to fight for the right to carry guns. That wasn't a problem before the US invasion. Back then, they could be police officers, they could be armed police officrs. Today they have to fight to regain their rights. And when the US military shows up for a 'training' and disrespects women and spits on them with their words and tells Iraqis that there's nothing worse in the world to be than a woman, they make life harder for Iraqi women. There is no excuse for that. There is never any excuse for it. And the US military needs to get to the bottom of this. They need to figure out where the breakdown is. They need to figure out how a US military composed of men and women continues to allow these sexist and harmful statements to be made? That question needs to be answered and until it is, expect more command rapes, expect more harassment and more assaults. Until the culture is confronted in the military, nothing's going to change. And to be very clear, the words were harmful to US women in the military as well as to Iraqi women. How seriously do you think any of those Iraqi police officers at the 'training' are going to take a female US service member? There was no excuse for it, there was never any excuse for it, it needs to stop.Other things need to stop as well. Today Amnesty International has called for a moratorium on executions in Iraq:

Iraq's Justice Minister has been urged to stop the execution of 128 prisoners on death row, amid reports that the authorities plan to start executing them in batches of 20 next week.The use of the death penalty has been increasing at an alarming rate in Iraq since the government reintroduced it in August 2004. This followed a suspension of more than one year by the Coalition Provisional Authority.Last year at least 285 people were sentenced to death, and at least 34 executed. In 2007 at least 199 people were sentenced to death and 33 were executed, while in 2006 at least 65 people were put to death. The actual figures could be much higher as there are no official statistics for the number of prisoners facing execution."The Iraqi government said in 2004 that reinstating capital punishment would curb widespread violence in the country. The reality, however, is that violence has continued at extremely high levels and the death penalty has yet again been shown to be no deterrent," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "In fact, many attacks are perpetrated by suicide bombers who, clearly, are unlikely to be deterred by the threat of execution."The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council informed Amnesty International on 9 March that Iraq's Presidential Council (comprising the President and the two Vice-Presidents) had ratified the death sentences of 128 people whose sentences had already been confirmed by the Cassation Court.The Iraqi authorities have not disclosed the identities of those facing imminent execution, stoking fears that many of them may have been sentenced to death after trials that failed to satisfy international standards for fair trial.Most are likely to have been sentenced to death by the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI), whose proceedings consistently fall short of international standards for fair trial. Some are likely to have been convicted of crimes such as murder and kidnapping on the basis of confessions they allege were extracted under torture during their pre-trial detention by Iraqi security forces. Allegations of torture are not being investigated adequately or at all by the CCCI. Torture of detainees held by Iraqi security forces remains rife."Iraq's creaking judicial system is simply unable to guarantee fair trials in ordinary criminal cases, and even less so in capital cases, with the result, we fear, that numerous people have gone to their death after unfair trials," said Malcolm Smart."Iraq continues to be plagued by high levels of political violence but the death penalty is no answer and, due to its brutalizing effect, may be making the situation worse. The Iraqi government should order an immediate halt to these executions and establish a moratorium on all further executions in Iraq." Amnesty International has called on the Iraqi authorities to make public all information pertaining to the 128 people, including their full names, details of the charges against them, the dates of their arrest, trial and appeal and their current places of detention. While Amnesty International calls for a halt to executions, two Republican senators in the US call for a new nominee for US Ambassador to Iraq. Xinhua reports John McCain and Lindsey Graham state Christopher Hill lacks MidEast experience and doesn't have a background in counterterrorism or counterinsurgency. The senators apparently do not realize what an ambassador actually does. Equally true, they both expected the nominee to be retired Gen Anthony Zinni. At the White House today, spokesmodel Robert Gibbs was asked about the Republican resistance in the Senate -- Hill is nominated, he has not been confirmed -- and whether the White House would continue to back Christopher Hill even if it appeared getting sixty votes to confirm might mean hard work? Gibbs responded, "Well, let's talk a little bit about Chris Hill. Obviously, he is a very seasoned, accomplished -- seasoned and accomplished -- diplomat. Somebody who has dealt with extraordinary challenges, and is uniquely qualified in a very tough political environment that remains in Iraq, to seek an end to some of the political disputes that are vexing to the Shia, the Sunni, and the Kurds. The President has extraordinary respect for his ability. I think he's proven his ability to understand very complex political situations, to resolve those political situations. Obviously, Iraq is a very unique situation, and the President believes that Chris Hill is uniquely qualified to meet those challenges. And I think that that will be true going forward, and the President is fully confident." That does not respond to the issue of 60 votes. Gibbs was then asked about Hill's lack of MidEast background and he 'answered' by ignoring the question. He once again yammered on about "skills" in what was a worthless response that not only did not answer the question, it also didn't stress Hill's strengths. When the White House spokesperson doesn't know how to defend a nominee, that's a problem. When the nominee is Christopher Hill, someone who is actually qualified for the post and the White House is unable to defend the nominee, that's a huge problem. At the US State Dept, spokesperson Gordon Duguid was also asked about the objection by McCain and Graham. Duguid responded that Christopher "Hill looks forward to confirmation hearings in which he can address the Senators' concerns and go into more details about his record. He is ready for those hearings. And I do believe, and I know that the President and the Secretary also believe, that Ambassaodr Hill is qualified. I won't go down the huge list of achievements he's had throughout his career, but simply point on his negotiating experience both in the Six-Party Talks and in the Dayton Accords as being particularly high points. But again, Ambassador Hill is ready to meet with senators and discuss their concerns, and looks forward to his hearings." And that, Robert Gibbs, is how you handle the question. Asked if the Administration is standing behind the nomination of Hill, Gordon Duguid responded, "That is correct. Yes, that is correct." Again, Robert Gibbs, that is how you handle the question.In Iraq, Ivan Watson (CNN) notes speculation that Turkey may be considering cross-border raids into Iraq due to the declaration that Turkey is planning to set up border check-points. This would be part of their continued assault on northern Iraq as they attempt to bomb the PKK -- an organization of rebels labeled "terrorists" by the UK, the US, the European Union, Turkey and Nouri al-Maliki -- the latter in public statements. In other reported violence today . . . Bombings?Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 woman and left one man wounded, another which wounded two people, a third which left four police officers wounded, a Baquba bombing that destroyed a building and, dropping back to Thursday night a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed the life of1 police officer and a Basra rocket attack. Shootings?Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 1 school guard shot dead in Baquba, 1 bus driver shot dead in Baquba and 1 police officer shot dead in Mosul.In England, the released e-mails showing the fraud involved in the pre-war 'evidence' offered by Tony Blair's government continues to result in attention if, as yet, no inquiry. Rose Prince (Telegraph of London) notes, "The emails circulated between senior figures in Tony Blair's government were released under the Freedom of Information Act after a ruling by Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner. They show that unnamed officials also protested that the dossier suggested that Saddam's biological warfare programme was far more advanced than they knew to be the case. In one email, a civil servant warned about 'iffy drafting' and compared hyperbolic claims about Iraq's nuclear capacity to 'Frankenstein' science." Journalist Chris Ames (Free Speech Blog) weighs in: "I first asked for these papers in June 2005, nearly four years ago. The Cabinet Office delayed for as long as it could before turning down the request, at which point I appealed to the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas. Last September, nearly three years on, Thomas ordered that the papers should be released, hinting along the way that they would provide 'evidence that the dossier was deliberately manipulated in order to present an exaggerated case for military action'." Where's the opposition and outcry? Bob Roberts (The Mirror) explains, "The Lib Dems said: 'This confirms officials and advisers close to Tony Blair were deliberately tweaking the presentation of the intelligence to bolster the case for war on Iraq'." The Daily Mail also notes growing outcries over the deception, "Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: 'These minutes shed interesting light on the process by which the caveats in the Joint Intelligence Committee's original assessment of Iraq's WMD programmes were stripped out of the dossier that was presented to Parliament and the British people.' Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey said: 'This confirms the widely held suspicions that leading officials and political advisers close to Tony Blair were deliberately tweaking the presentation of the intelligence to bolster the case for war on Iraq'." The Metro reminds, "The dossier was made public in September 2002 by the then prime minister Tony Blair. Critics believe the move was designed to gain public support for invading Iraq the following year." The dossier is revealed to be rigged and filled with intentional distortions. England was lied into the illegal war and proof emerges constantly and publicly. So where is the inquiry? These revelations have become very common in England and they do get press coverage (unlike in the US), so where's the inquiry? Michael Settle (Scotland's The Herald) quotes SNP's Angus Robertson stating, "The case for war in Iraq is now totally exposed as a lie. Gordon Brown, who supported the war, must immediately announce the starting date of an independent inquiry." A real inquiry. Along with those who have died serving in Iraq, England has seen other deaths as a result of this illegal war. BBC reminds:The dossier became the cause of a huge row between the BBC and Tony Blair's government following the invasion of Iraq and the failure to find WMD.The Today programme's Andrew Gilligan reported that an unnamed senior official involved in drawing it up had told him parts of it - specifically a claim that Saddam could launch WMD at 45 minutes' notice - had been inserted against the wishes of the intelligence services even though the government "probably knew" the claim was wrong.This led on to the Hutton inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly, the WMD specialist who killed himself just over a week after being named by the Ministry of Defence as the source for the BBC's report.Last month, Rose Gentle (Military Families Against the War) noted of the continued stonewallying, "All we want to know is why our troops where sent in to Iraq - this country has the right to know what is in those minutes. I have the right to know why my son was sent there to die. We all know it definitely wasn't for WMD - lets hope one day their kids or grand kids don't go to a war looking for WMD." Rose Gentle's son Gordon was killed January 28, 2004 while serving in Iraq. In the US, labor journalist David Bacon offers "WHY LABOR LAW DOESN'T WORK FOR WORKERS" (New American Media):After months of a media war supporting and condemning it, the Employee Free Choice Act was finally introduced into Congress again this week. The bill has been debated before, but with a larger Democratic majority, its chances of passage are much greater today, and President Obama has said he'll sign it. Employers, therefore, are fighting it as never before.Behind the verbal fireworks, workers on the ground say that current labor law has no teeth, and must be changed. In Lancaster, California, one of the country's hardest-fought organizing drives highlights the obstacles they face. A year ago, employees at Rite Aid's huge drug warehouse there voted to join a union. On March 21, 2008, the National Labor Relations Board certified that union, giving it the right to negotiate a first union contract. But Rite Aid, workers say, has just been waiting for the year to expire. Once it does, the company can stop the pretense of negotiating. But an even more serious problem lies beyond. When the year is up, a group of pro-company workers will likely petition for a new election, where the company can try to undo last year's pro-union vote.These are just the latest maneuvers in Rite Aid's war against the union. For the last three years its employees have overcome one obstacle after another in their effort to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Each obstacle has been placed in their path by this country's weak labor laws, a problem the Employee Free Choice Act was written to correct. That's why Rite Aid and other large employers are fighting the bill in Congress. EFCA would go a long way toward solving the problems workers have at three crucial stages in union organizing efforts - anti-union firings at the beginning, getting their union recognized, and negotiating that first agreement. Says Angel Warner, one of Rite Aid's most vocal pro-union employees, "if we'd had EFCA, we'd have had our union and contract a long time ago."David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press). Public broadcasting notes. NOW on PBS explores the economy in their latest broadcast which begins airing tonight on most PBS stations (check your local listings):The world's economic superpowers are preparing to meet--will they devise a fix for the financial mess? Next time on NOW.On March 13, financial ministers and central bankers of the world's economic superpowers will meet in London to lay the groundwork for next month's crucial meeting of their country's leaders, known as the G20. Will their work revolutionize the global economy and lift us out of this economic hole, or will politics get in the way?David Brancaccio interviews Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard economics professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, about how high we should raise our hopes and what's at stake for America and the world.Washington Week also begins airing tonight on most PBS stations (check local listings) and it's just Gwen and the fellas: Time's Michael Duffy, Slate's John Dickerson and NBC's Michael Viqueira. Good thing it's not Women's History Month, right? Oh, wait, it is. Well that's PBS counter-programming, you understand, because there are so many women dominating Friday night programming! There's . . . Jennifer Love Hewitt! And . . . There's Jennifer Love Hewitt! Hey, look, I love Love, she's one of the sweetest people in the industry, but I had no idea she was so powerful, that she required such extensive counter-programming. We salute you, Jennifer Love Hewitt, you make the PBS programmers tremble. Jennifer Love Hewitt's network home is CBS (The Ghost Whisperer, Friday nights, first hour of prime time) and Sunday, on CBS' 60 Minutes:The ChairmanIn a rare interview with a sitting Federal Reserve chairman – the first in 20 years – Ben Bernanke tells Scott Pelley what went wrong with America's financial system, how it caused the current economic crisis, what the Fed's doing to help fix it and when he expects the crippling recession to end. (This is a double-length segment.)Alice WatersShe has been cooking and preaching the virtues of fresh food grown in an environmentally friendly way for decades. A world-class restaurant and eight cookbooks to her credit, she's become famous for her "slow food" approach – an antidote to fast food. Lesley Stahl reports. Watch Video60 Minutes, Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.60 Minutes Update:Madoff's Guilty PleaBernard Madoff has pleaded guilty to 11 felony charges for defrauding investors of more than $60 billion in a giant Ponzi scheme. Financial analyst and fraud investigator Harry Markopolos told Steve Kroft that the Securities and Exchange Commission ignored his repeated warnings about the Madoff fund for over five years. Watch Videoiraqnprtalk of the nationlourdes garcia-navarrothomas e. ricksrosa princechris amesbob robertsmichael settlejames wardenmatthew schofieldmcclatchy newspapersanthony arnovedavid baconivan watson60 minutespbswashington weeknow on pbs

Thursday, March 12, 2009

I might do a album review this weekend. If time allows, I'll do one. There's an album I really like. In reply to Cheryl's e-mail asking why I'm not noting Amazon specials this week, not interested. White Snake? Not a fan. If Cheryl or anyone ever sees a special they want me to note, e-mail and I will. But get it in before I start blogging because the specials end at midnight (daily download specials).

Okay, now get this. We are in an economic crisis. We've basically got no money and everything's closing or collapsing. But while this is going the military wants $1 trillion for 2500 planes and $158 billion for some new high-tech weapons. We don't have that money but not only do we not have the money, we also do not have the money for what they're really cost. Because the GAO says the costs on both of these projects will skyrocket.

It really is amazing what we will make money to waste on.

We can never have anything that actually helps the American people but we can always throw out more mony on out of date programs with huge cost overruns.

Thursday, March 12, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, shoe-toss gets you one-and-a-half-years or three if you toss two, England's rocked by more evidence of manipulating the pre-war intelligence, the US military pretends to address suicides, and more.

We're going to start in England, move to the US, then to Iraq and finally to Australia. In the UK today new calls for an inquiry into the Iraq War pre-war 'intelligence.' BBC News reports a freedom of information request resulting in, among other things, an e-mail where the head of intelligence "Sir John Scarlett was pressed . . . to make analysis of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction as 'authoritative' as he could" is prompting the latest calls for an inquiry. The Belfast Telegraph explains, "The emails show officials complained the dossier suggested Saddam Hussein's biological warfare programme was more advanced than they actually believed was the case." Paul Waugh (This is London) reports, "Intelligence experts explicitly warned Tony Blair's aides that Britian was not in 'imminent danger of attack' from Saddam Hussein, a confidential memo revealed today. . . . today Whitehall released a memo from former Cabinet Office defence expert Desmond Bowen, who later won promotion to policy director at the Ministry of Defence, which shows he disagreed Saddam posed an immediate threat. The September 2002 memo, written to then Joint Intelligence Committee chairman John Scarlett and copied to Alastair Campabell, provides comments on an early draft of the government dossier on Iraq." Waugh notes how aware Tony Blair's cabinet was of the need to manipulate the people via the media with Jack Straw's office focusing on Sky News and how the dossier needed to be a "video 'wall'" for the network and this could be done by adding one "very simple table" needed to be added to the dossier -- "This should be brief enough to get onto the Sky wall ie no more than 5 bullets." Adrian Croft (Reuters) reminds, "British weapons expert David Kelly committed suicide in July 2003 after being identified as the source of a BBC report alleging the government had 'sexed-up' intelligence on banned Iraqi weapons." With each revelation comes a cry for a full inquiry. Thus far, the cries have been ignored.

In the US, Saturday Julie Sullivan (The Oregonian) reported on hexavalent chromium which many Oregon National Guard soldiers were exposed to in Iraq -- the many may include 93 soldiers in the state whom the military sent out register letters to last Friday. While working to protect an Iraq plant then overseen by Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root, they were exposed to it, as Ed Blacke (KBR safety officer) testified to Congress last summer. Sullivan explains KBR termed it a "non-issue" at the time. Among those who have attempted to address this issue in Congress are Senators Evan Bayh and Byron Dorgan, Russ Feingold and US House Rep Tim Bishop. Feingold specifically wants answers about the burn pits and how they may expose soldiers to hazards and toxins. This week, Wikileaks releases a [PDF format warning] December 20, 2006 Dept of the Air Force memo whose subject heading is "Burn Pit Health Hazards" which is a risk assessment done by Lt Col Darrin L. Curtis ("Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight Commander") and seconded (in writing) by Lt Col James R. Elliott ("Chief, Aeromedical Services"). Curtis raises six points regarding the Balad Air Base burn pit. First, the burn pit "has been identified as a health concern for several years in numerous after action reports". The second point boils down to guidelines not being followed because contaminants burned off in the pits are difficult "to quantify". We'll close with the third point so move on to number four right now. Curtis cites the "smoke hazards" involved in the burning of contaminants. Point five: "In my professional opinion, there is an acute health hazard for individuals." Sixth is his noting the "operational health risk" to those around the burn pits. Now we're dropping back to the third point and noting it in full:

The Air Force documents exposure to the burn pit for those stationed at Balad AB as an environmental health hazard by placing detailed information in each Airman's medical record during their post-deployment medical outprocessing. This is a permanent part of their medical record and is a mandatory document that assists the Air Force in complying with Presidential Review Directive 5. It is amazing that the burn pit has been able to operate without restrictions over the past few years without significant engineering controls being put in place. I would hope in the future that issues such as burn pits are identified early on and engineering controls such as incinerators would be used to mitigate these hazards. It seem that money has been the issue of why engineering controls are not currently in place.

Money. Playing it cheap. Julie Sullivan reports 21-year-old Nicholas Thomas returned from Iraq and "died of complications of leukemia . . . Three others have reported lung problems to headquarters. Five more told The Oregonian they suffer chrnoci coughs, rashes and immune system distorders." Larry Roberta returned from Iraq with numerous problems: "he was rated 100 percent disabled by lung disorders, tinnitus and post-traumatic stress disorder. He needs two inhalers to breathe and swallows eight kinds of pills a day for upper chest pain, migraines, high blood presure, mood swings and a mystifying low level of testosterone."

This is what happens when human lives are not valued -- not the ones being attacked, not the ones serving the interests of their own governments. The battle field just a big playlot and the ones far from don't give a damn what happens to the ones living there or the ones sent there. Perfect example, Chris Rizo (Legal Newsline) reported Tuesday that Dow Chemical Company will not be held accountable for Agent Orange and all the destruction it did to Vietnam. You need to look at who brought the suit -- it was the Vietnamese and US veterans. LBJ, Richard Nixon and all their underlings didn't suffer. They lived long lives with little to complain of other than (reportedly) nightly gas. (Poor Lady Bird and Pat.) But the people they ordered attacked, the people they ordered sent over to do the attacking, those are the ones who suffered. Rizo notes the lower court rulings now stand which argued "federal law protects government contractors" and no standing for the Vietnamese ("because Agent Orane was used to protect U.S. troops from abumsh"). The ones who suffered (and continue to suffer) get no voice in court and that's only made more clear by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens decision to recuse himself. His son served in Vietnam, John Joseph Stevens, and died in 1996 of cancer which may or may not have been connected to exposure to Agent Orange. So the only one on the Court who might understand the defendants plight has to recuse himself? Debra Cassens Weiss (ABA Journal) quotes Susan Mullen stating "her brother died of a brain tumor" at age 47, that "he got ill and died too quickly for him to get involved in any legal matters," and that she's not sure why her father recused himself from the decision of whether or not the Court should grant cert to the Agent Orange cases. Cassens Weiss notes that Stevens recused himself from a similar review in 2006.

War after war, the point becomes very clear: governments see those on the battlefield as expendable. For the US government, that's the Vietnamese, the Iraqis, and, yes, the US service members. Jason Notte (Providence Phoenix) reviews the experiences of Iraq War veteran Jeff Lucey who returned to the US and was given no medical help for his problems: "On [June] 22, 2004, unable to handle the intesity anymore -- the daily vomiting, the feeling that he was a murderer, the fear that none of his military higher-ups even cared -- Lucey wrapped a garden hose around his neck in the basement of his family's Belchertown, Massachusetts, home and hanged himself." Jeff Lucey died June 22, 2004, the paper has the month wrong. In January, the US government, made an offer of $350,000 to the Lucey family but claimed that this was not an admission of guilt or wrong doing on the part of the US government or the VA medical system. Notte notes a 2004 study where 30% of soldiers in the survey self-disclosed thoughts of suicide "within the past week" and how the number of Army deaths from suicide hit a high of 138 last year. Dina Greenberg (Houston Chronicle) offers, "While Army leadership is to be commended for breaking the barrier of silence regarding mental illness in the military, the underlying culture of secrecy that has contributed to the current trend is in dire need of reform. According to figures obtained by the Associated Press, there has been a steady increase in suicides since 2003, totaling 450 active duty soldiers, with the highest numbers occurring in the past year." Yes, a break in the silence barrier would be something . . . if it didn't appear to be part of something else. In this case, "We talked, now it's your problem!" AP reports that Fort Campbell officials want service member's family members to catch "signs that soldiers may be depressed" leading one to wonder exactly what is the military responsible for? It's not responsible for protecting those who serve (as evidenced by Agent Orange victims, the victims from KBR's shoddy 'work habits,' etc.) and it's not responsible for a failed mental health system. Now it's the families that better be on their toes and spot those signs. Every tiny move the military brass makes is done under immense pressure. If they'd attempt to address the problem themselves, they'd find the numbers of suicides and attempted suicides would be greatly reduced. But they won't do that. They won't confront the attitude that they instill that mocks mental health issues and that scorns treatment. They do little song and dances about how you leave quicker if you don't tell the doctors about any problems. So you can go through various exit interviews and possible treatment or you can say "Just fine, no problem" and be walking out the door. The military command could have and should have addressed the culture of silence and how they encourage it. Until that's done, the military can keep farming out the responsibilities to the families but the problem's not going away.

March 5th, Col Catherine Abbott issued a press release noting 2 suicides for February in the Army with "16 cases of death . . . pending a determination." Col Abbott noted the "stand-down, From February 15 to March 15, 2009. The stand-down includes training for peer-level recognition of warning signs that may lead to suicidal behaviro, and intervnetion at the buddy level." More hogwash. Commanders are the ones who set the tone. They're the ones quick to brag about how they run things. They are the ones, in the military, who are supposed to be accountable for all serving under them. Where is the Army's announcement about how commanders will be addressing this growing problem? They can keep farming out watch duties to families and peers but until they take accountablility and address the culture of silence and denial, the problem's not going away. Pat Hatfield (The DeLand - Deltona Beacon) reports on what may be the two latest victims: 21-year-old Kristin Kouis and 24-year-old Jason Kouis. The sister and brother were discovered Feburary 27th in a car with "[a] hose . . . from the vehicle's tailpipe into the rear passegener-side window, which was taped shut. The vehicle was still running." Florida's Sun-Sentinel editorializes about another silence:

News about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan takes a back seat to the economic doom and gloom. But just because foreclosures and unemployment seem to hit closer to home for most of us, it doesn't mean we should forget what our soldiers are doing. And certainly we shouldn't forget about the problems they face on the battlefront and when they return home, which have come to light again with the latest spike in Army suicides. While there are no specific numbers as to how many of the suicides took place on the war fronts, there were 18 suspected Army suicides in February, following a horrific January in which it was believed 24 soldiers committed suicide.

The editorial concludes, "And the general public needs to remember that Wall Street doesn't have a monopoly on all the problems these days." John Ross (CounterPunch) observes:Iraq has been erased from public discourse in the wake of an economic meltdown at least partially invoked by the vast outlays Bush pumped into the war to keep his killing machine choogling. The television networks long ago rolled up their crews and there will be no film of today's massacre on the Six O'clock news. U.s. news media have airlifted out their aces or recuded in-country staffs to a skeleton crew. When after seven years of corpses coming home to the Dover Delaware death distribution center, Obama-Bush Secretary of Defense Robert Gates authorized the press to run photos of flag-draped coffins (if they first obtain family permission), it came much too late for both those Americans who had perished in this heinous aggression and a newspaper industry that is now being interred in its own flag-draped coffin. The New York Times daily Iraq body count has now been conbined with the U.S. dead in Afghanistan and the box wedged into a rat hole on the Middle East page. Even the Left has abandoned Iraq, justifiably shifting its attentions to the horrors of Gaza. This year's sixth anniversary marches to denounce the invasion and occupation of Iraq are doomed to be the most miserable yet. Many who once marched will pause and scratch their heads. Didn't Obama just say the war is over? Of course the war is not over. Obama's speech to the leathernecks at Lejeune was stuffed with caveats and canards. Combat troops will be gone from Iraq by August 2010 the Prez pledged, leaving 35,000 to 50,000 residuals in country -- but the small print gives Baracko fiat to reclassify combats as residuals. The remaining troops' departure by 2011 hinges on Iraqi acceptance of a status of forces agreement to be voted up this June and not what the White House decrees. Nonetheless, U.S. withdrawal is subject to Pentagon review with options extended for many years to come. No mention is made of 150,000 private contract killers or permanent bases on Iraqi soil.

We noted Collateral Repair Project in yesterday's snapshot. John Ross closes his piece noting the group run by his "pal Sasha Crow and her Iraqi counterparts" and he urges people to note the anniversary of the start of the illegal war by making a donation to Collateral Repair Project. Yesterday's snapshot also noted Alyssa J. Rubin and Marc Santor's article on the bombing which claimed 33 lives but the link was omitted. My apologies. John Ross feels that the turn out for this month's events will be low. He may be right. If he is, reasons will include no real action on a national scale in 2008 -- must not embarrass the Democrats in an election year is a 'core principle' according to Leslie Cagan -- and the fact that so many are trying to distract from what's planned. I do not mean John Ross. I'm talking about the ones Leslie Cagan's released from her kennal who are pushing UPFJ's non-action and acting as if no actions are taking place this month. The always useless Leslie Cagan should be aware that works both ways and it won't be very hard to take their faux 'action' and making it as big a disgrace as the little attempt last year at non-action. How did that work out? Hmm. Big names. Lot of advance work for the tin anniversary -- no, tin is never a practical gift. And then it got a little curse put on it that prevented the press from covering it, right? A few phone calls and suddenly no respectable outlet was reporting on it. That was an April event as well. And the 'leader,' the Red Queen, even bought herself a new wig (it looked vinyl -- maybe that was just when contrasted with her alabaster complexion?) So they should be aware that, as the Beatles once put it, in the end, the love you make is equal to the love you take. And then some.

Those wanting to call out the illegal war can join with groups such as The National Assembly to End the Wars, the ANSWER coalition, World Can't Wait and Iraq Veterans Against the War -- all are taking part in a real action. Iraq Veterans Against the War explains:IVAW's Afghanistan Resolution and National Mobilization March 21st As an organization of service men and women who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan, stateside, and around the world, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War have seen the impact that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had on the people of these occupied countries and our fellow service members and veterans, as well as the cost of the wars at home and abroad. In recognition that our struggle to withdraw troops from Iraq and demand reparations for the Iraqi people is only part of the struggle to right the wrongs being committed in our name, Iraq Veterans Against the War has voted to adopt an official resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and reparations for the Afghan people. (To read the full resolution, click here.) To that end, Iraq Veterans Against the War will be joining a national coalition which is being mobilized to march on the Pentagon, March 21st, to demand the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and further our mission and goals in solidarity with the national anti-war movement. This demonstration will be the first opportunity to show President Obama and the new administration that our struggle was not only against the Bush administration - and that we will not sit around and hope that troops are removed under his rule, but that we will demand they be removed immediately. For more information on the March 21st March on the Pentagon, and additional events being organized in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Orlando, to include transportation, meetings, and how you can get involved, please visit: www.pentagonmarch.org or www.answercoalition.org.

Camilo Mejia is the author of Road from Ar Ramadi. He is an Iraq War veteran. He is a conscientious objector. He stood up to the full power of the US military and he survived and then some. He is the chair of Iraq Veterans Against the war. All of that, before you even get into the adventures of his father and mother, is more than worth hearing about and those makes him someone worth hearing. Those in South Bend and Goshen Indiana have the opportunity to hear him next week. Monday, he will be speaking at 7:00 pm on the Indiana University South Bend's campus and Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. he will be speaking in Goshen at Iglesia Menonita Del Buen Pastor. Both events are free and open to the public and more information can be found here. Mejia is among the early resisters and his actions are noted by Michael J. Mooney (Broward Palm Beach) who explains the struggle war resister Aslan Lamarche is currently undergoing. He joined the military at the age of 18, he then self-checked out and went to Canada. His attempt to be granted refugee status in Canada was denied. His parents (from Trinidad and Cuba) remain in Flordia and Aslan states, "It's sad. My parents came to the U.S. for a better way of life. And now, their oldest son had to leave that same country for the same reason." He is taking classes in Toronto and hoping for some good news. He says, "It's hard to be 20 years old and be hated by two governments. And Canada is a very strange country in a lot of ways. They just have this blind trust that their government will do the right thing. The majority of Canadians want us to stay. They say, 'Don't worry. Everything will be fine.' But at the end of the day, none of them are willing to fight for us."

Fighting continues in Iraq as does injustice. Today a verdict was issued in the one-shoe, two-shoe case. December 14th Bully Boy and Nouri al-Maliki gathered for a photo op to sign two documents. The photo op was marred when Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi declared, "This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss you dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." He made those statements while huring one of his shoes and then the other at Bully Boy. Both shoes missed and Bully Boy grinned and did not take it seriously or perceive it to be a threat ("And if you want some -- if you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw. Thank you for your concern, do not worry about it.")Muntadhar was immediately pounced on and beaten by al-Maliki's thugs. He was then carted off to jail and denied visitation with his family and denied consulation with his attorneys. A public outcry forced al-Maliki to allow a token visit and it was learned that Muntadhar stated he had been beaten while in prison. Less widely reported was that Muntadhar also denied the statements attributed to him by al-Maliki's government. Today Muntadhar shouted, "Long live Iraq!"He was in court again today. His third appearance this year. February 19th, Muntadar al-Zaidi (also spelled Muntadhar al-Zeidi) appeared before a judge who adjourned unsure whether or not Bully Boy's visit was an official one. As noted here then, "But it was an official visit. (They think Bush takes pleasure cruises? The man who had to have his pillow to campaign in 2000 and still whined about being out on the road?) And it's rather frightening that the presiding judge felt the need to halt the trial so that the nature of the visit could be determined." The judge ruled this week that it was an official visit. Of course, he did. Unless the defense was attempting to delay via that ploy, it was a dumb legal move. They were at a table, they were signing two official government documents. It didn't matter, as Muntadhar's attorneys attempted to argue, that the visit took place in the Green Zone (under US control) and not in another part of Iraq. Why would it? Except for the Kurdistan Region, Iraq was all under US control at the time of the visit. Michael B. Farrell (Christian Science Monitor) points out the judge "read a statement from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office stating that Bush's visit was indeed official."So Tuesday Muntadhar was back before the judge and his brother attempted to lead a demonstration which the police shut down claiming there was no permit. Marc Santora (New York Times) reports this morning (online -- no article on Iraq in the paper) that the judge, Abdulamir Hassan al-Rubaie, found it was an official visit and made that announcement Tuesday. Today, McClatchy's Laith Hammoudi reports, Muntadar had none of the excitement and verve he showed in Jaunaruy, instead, "arriving under heavy guard, he almost stubmled in, exhausted and looking worried, and no longer wearing an Iaqi flag scarf." Pauline Lockwood (The Mirror -- link has video of the shoe toss) explains, "Muntadar al-Zaidi pleaded not guilty during his trial and said that his reaction at the time had been natural and represented the feeling of the Iraqi population." (Santora quotes him stating, "I am innocent. It was a natural reaction to the crime of occupation.") Hamza Hendawi (AP) notes that Muntadhar, if found guilty, could have faced up to 15 years in prison; however, he was found guilty and sentenced to three years. CNN explains, " Family members and journalists were cleared from the courtroom before Thursday's verdict. After news of the verdict reached family members, al-Zaidi's brother appeared close to fainting. Other family members were seen crying and shouting curses about al-Maliki and Bush." David Byers (Times of London) adds:His sister, Ruqaiya, was seen to burst into tears and shout: "Down with (Iraqi Prime Minister) Maliki, agent of the Americans" and several family members stood outside Iraq Central Criminal Court shouting anti-American slogans.Dhiaa al-Saadi, the chief defence lawyer, said that his team would appeal. "This sentence is harsh and is not in harmony with the law, and eventually the defence team will contest this in the appeals court," he was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency.

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) quotes Udai declaring, "This was expected from an American court. We don't feel sorry for Muntathar, we only feel sorry for Americanized Iraq." Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) quotes Haidar abu Karra, Muntathar's uncle, on the refusal to punish real criminals, "Nobody summoned [guard with the U.S. security firm] Blackwater for what they did to Iraqis. [Parliament member] Mohammed Daini, who is suspected of killing dozens of Iraqis, in in Baghdad now. Why are they not able to detain him? Why do they do this with Muntather." Anthony Shadid (Washington Post) quotes his mother stating, "My son, Muntadar. Why did you do it? You've lost three years of your life." Al Jazeera notes the family plans to appeal, to bring torture charges against Nouri, Bully Boy and Nouri's bodyguards and that they question the verdict:One of his brothers, Uday, said the decision was political."This is a political court. Muntadhar is being treated like a prisoner of war. He is not a normal prisoner ... This decision has been taken by the prime minister's office."Al-Zaidi shouted "Iraq, long live Iraq" after the verdict was read out, Yahia Attabi, a defence lawyer, said."We expected the decision because under the Iraqi criminal code he was charged with assaulting a foreign leader on an official visit."Gary Langer (ABC News) reports a poll of Iraqis by ABC News, BBC and NHK finds:Twenty-four percent of Iraqis see al-Zeidi as a criminal for assaulting a visiting foreign head of state. But 62 percent instead call him a hero, for expressing the views held by many Iraqi people. Al-Zeidi is scheduled to appear in court today in Baghdad. His highest support in the polls comes from Sunni Arabs who hail him as a hero by 84%. Citing the poll, Jon Cohen (Washington Post) notes of the guilty verdict and three year sentence, "It's a decision that is unlikely to go over well with the Iraqi public". Caroline Alexander (Bloomberg News) provides other recent shoe-throwings which include Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, last week, Wen Jiabao, Chinese Premier, last month as he spoke at Cambridge. Meanwhile Marc Abizeid (Lebanon's Daily Star) reports that the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut was the location for a protest by approximately thirty members "of the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth" who shouted, "Mr. Obama, remember the shoe that Bush got, and we have another one ready for you."

Meanwhile Iran's Press TV reports the Islamic State in Iraq released a statement today claiming credit for Tuesday's bombing which claimed 33 lives: "A knight of the Islamic State in Iraq from the martyrs battalion . . . on March 8, 2009, infilitrated with his explosives vest a big crowd of apostate police recruits near the gate of the police academy in Baghdad." To make it mean more, most outlets are tossing around "al Qaeda linked" which allows them to note the claimed credit comes a bit late for a group allegedly responsible. Not saying ISI isn't responsible, just stating in most countries, that would be a bit late to claim credit today. Nothing is known at this point except today's reported violence.

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing which left four people wounded, another which left three people ("including the brigadier general, Taha Khudhair, of the civil defense") wounded and a Mosul roadside bombing which claimed the life of 1 police officer and left another injured.

Reuters notes 1 corpse discovered in Mosul.Finally, al-Maliki and Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, met today in Australia. Rudd's office noted the meeting with a press release which noted oil, gas and wheat opportunitis for Australia in Iraq. Xinhau reports the two toured the Australian War Memorial an al-Maliki declared, "I extend my sympathies to the families of loved ones who lost their lives while helping Iraq." Three Australian service members died in Iraq. We covered Jake Kovco throughout 2006 (throughout the joke of an inquest into his death) who died while only 25-years-old, April 21, 2006. Paul Pardoel died January 30, 2005 at the age of 35 and David Nary died at the age of 42 on November 5, 2005.